ABOUT
Christina Werkmeister is an artist and interior designer living and working in New York City.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My current work includes abstract paintings, digital prints and a range of works in concrete and wood. My art is a culmination of many influences, including architecture, interior design and graphic design. I get inspired by street art, rock 'n' roll, traveling and the NYC landscape.
My abstract work is a friendly battle between my intuitive flow and my background in design. I usually allow my intuition do most of the work when I create backgrounds to let exciting color combinations or textures come to live. My designer eye takes over when adding focal points and details to pay attention to composition, movement, depth and contrast. My digital prints and architectural wood sculptures are similarly intuitive in the conceptual process and become design focused in the production phase. Finding the right balance for each individual project is the key and excitement for me to create a great work of art.
I work with water-based acrylic paints on canvas, paper and wood boards and I mostly use paint knives and wedges, as well as sticks for splatter. Besides traditional painting techniques that I learned in art class, I use painting methods that I acquired from scenic painting for theater and film.
The creative process has always been a very important part of my life and I thrive on the excitement of bringing ideas to life. Over the years I have worked on numerous creative projects, including film, scenery, interiors and lots of school projects that required me to develop an array of skills and discipline. My artwork today allows me to freely create and express myself.
ARTIST BIO
Born and raised in Kassel, Germany—home to Documenta, a major international contemporary art exhibition—Christina was immersed in art from an early age. Christina majored in art in high school. Her artwork during that time consisted primarily of collages and graffiti-style drawings influenced by pop art, 1990s pop culture, and her travels to the U.S., Australia, and South Africa.
After attending the New York Film Academy in 1997, Christina moved to New York City permanently. She earned a BA from the City University of New York, where she studied set design under Tony Award winner Beowulf Boritt. During that time, Christina worked on numerous productions as co-producer and production designer for Pistolero Films and designed scenery for a number of plays in Manhattan.
Christina began painting while working on the award-winning independent film Liar's Pendulum, which required numerous paintings for a warehouse scene. The film featured works designed by director Andrew W. Flores and executed by Christina and her art department, along with several of her original pieces. These paintings, along with other artifacts from the film, were later exhibited at the Staten Island Film Festival. Christina continued painting after the production but took a break to pursue an MFA in Interior Architecture and Design at the Academy of Art University.
After researching Abstract Expressionism for a film production, Christina was inspired to return to painting. One of her first interior design projects led to a commission for a large abstract piece, resulting in a series of eight concrete and acrylic paintings. Since then, she has created abstract paintings, digital prints, and various works in concrete and wood.
Her work has been exhibited in galleries across NYC and showcased at Saatchi’s The Other Art Fair in Brooklyn. She received the 2021 DCA Premier Grant and held her first solo exhibition, OFFSPRING: Abstract Art Reborn, at Hub17 Gallery in June 2022. Her digital art has since been featured at Spectrum Miami during Art Basel Miami 2023, Cipriarte Gallery during the Venice Biennale 2024, and ARTBOXEXPO Basel during Art Basel 2024.
Recently, Christina was awarded the DCLA Art Fund Grant for her second solo show, Concrete Concrete, opening in early June.
CV
Christina Werkmeister
Born in Kassel, Germany in 1976
EXHIBITIONS
ARTBOXEXPO Basel, Euroairport Basel, Switzerland, June, 2024
Biennale Artbox Expo, Cipriarte Gallery, Venice, Italy, Group Show, April, 2024
Spectrum Miami with Art.Box Project Miami 4.0, Wynwood, Miami, Group Show, December, 2023
Reappearance, Art Lab Gallery, Staten Island, New York, Group Show, November, 2023
Support Systems, The Art Gallery at CSI, New York - April, 2023
OFFSPRING: Abstract Art Reborn, Hub17 Gallery, Staten Island, New York, Solo Show - June 2022
Techspressionism Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York, Group Show - December 2021
The Other Art Fair Brooklyn, presented by Saatchi Art, Brooklyn, New York - July 2021
Orenda Art Works, NYC, Virtual Group Exhibition “Conceptual Abstraction” , 2021
Art Lab Gallery, Staten Island, New York, Group Show - March 2021
Papergirl-Brooklyn, New York, Art Project - Fall 2020
Pop Up Vol 1, STARTA ARTA, Manhattan, Group Show - March 2020
Greenpoint Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, Group Show - December 2019
Art Lab Gallery, Staten Island, New York, “Color” Group Show - November 2019
Staten Island Museum Fence Show, New York - September 2018
PUBLICATIONS
OyeDrum Magazine, Vol. 2, 2020
MURZE Art Magazine, Issue 10, “Art for Advent”, 2020
Diáfano Magazine, Issue 2, 2020
MURZE Art Magazine, Issue 9, “minimalism and extinction”, 2019
EDUCATION
Academy of Art University, Masters of Fine Arts, Interior Architecture and Design, 2016
The City University of New York, Baccalaureate of Arts, Set Design, 2003